Ding rallies to beat Woollaston in China Open Ding Junhui plays against Ben Woollaston of England during the first round of the China Open...

Ding rallies to beat Woollaston in China Open

Ding Junhui plays against Ben Woollaston of England during the first round of the China Open snooker tournament in Beijing, March 28, 2012. [Photo/CFP]

Ben Woollaston of England plays against Ding Junhui during the first round of the China Open snooker tournament in Beijing, March 28, 2012. [Photo/CFP]

BEIJING - Chinese wunderkind Ding Junhui came from behind to see off Ben Woollaston of England 5-4 in the first round of the China Open snooker tournament on Tuesday.

Ding defeated Woollaston twice before - in Players Tour Championship(PTC) Grand Prix and PTC Grand Final, but the former European Under-19 champion shocked both Ding and the home spectators by racing to a 4-0 lead.

Ding managed to level at 4-4 after the interval. Though Woollaston had a chance to erase Ding's efforts, he could only pack his cue to head home as Ding stroke a break of 73 in the final frame.

"I nearly burst out in the interval because I was really not happy about my performance," a stern-faced Ding told the press conference. "I'm glad that I had it under control."

Ding will face world number one Mark Selby in the next round as the Englishman booked his berth by easing past China's former World U-21 Championship runner-up Li Hang 5-0.